A real estate investment firm has a tentative deal to buy the Eugene Hynix plant and turn it into a data center.

Their vision could include setting up a data center for multiple users in the large building where Hynix used to manufacture computer memory chips, according to Jack Roberts, executive director of the Lane Metro Partnership, a local economic development agency.

The developers have “indicated the most logical use is a ‘co-location data center,’ but that’s not the only possible use,” Roberts said. “There could be other compatible uses, and they’re still exploring that.”